Returning a Favor
by PrettyKittyFics
Summary: She'd helped him when he was down, it was only fair of him to do the same. (Real real real short HibiMomo drabble, fluff without plot tbh. Typed at 3 AM so mind the spelling errors)


The not-so-peachy idol sat backstage a full hour after her latest concert, far in the back of the now dark area; knees hugged tightly to her chest with her face buried. Once again, she'd ended up embarassing herself. You'd think she'd be used to it by now, but still, time and time and again, whenever she ended up looking like a fool on stage, it haunted her for days, even weeks. She could recall each and every press article written about it, and now, it seemed some more were about to be typed. She could practically hear it in her mind already. Wasn't it bad enough that she threw up before every show? She didn't anything making her social anxiety, or whatever it was, even worse. The depressed lump let out a sigh. She really did need to quit this job, didn't she? Some soft sobs escaped her.

At the sight of bright orange hair, the younger boy stopped. It seemed he'd found who he was looking for; and in a questionable state. Was she okay? He took one more step forward.

"Oi, Oba-san...you there?"

"Uh...?" She looked up, spotting him. "Hibiya? ...What're you doing here?"

"Your concert ended an hour ago. I was coming to see where you were."

"Oh, right..." She'd forgotten that she was typically the only ride home from her performances her friends had. She just trapped them there for an hour, hadn't she? "Sorry...I'll be there in a minute" She did her best to contain herself, but the sadness in her throat poked through.

Hibiya squinted. "Are you okay?" He walked over to her.

"Haa-ah..." A sob shook her voice. "I'm fine"

"No you're not...is this about your concert?" He knelt down beside her, but hoped he wasn't showing too much concern - granted, he _was_ concerned. Not that he'd like to admit it.

"Hmm..." At this point, she knew she'd been seen through. Might as well talk to him about it, at least a little. She felt she could trust him, anyway. "...I messed up again."

"I noticed. This happen often?"

"Mhmm...they're going to be talking about me again." At that sentence, her voice cracked and a tear fell down her cheek.

"Well, I'm sure it's...not..." He noticed the droplet flowing down her cheek, her head lowered, trying to hide it. "Hey, are you crying?"

"Ah..." Her tone was weak and shaking. "You...you shouldn't see me like this."

Hibiya stood blankly. The sight of her in the state...it threw him off. It _upset_ him. The one and only Momo Kisaragi wasn't supposed t0 be crying. She was supposed to be helping those that were; like she'd done for him, more than once.

He wanted to see her cheer up. He wanted to see her happy again. He wouldn't even admit this to himself, but he wanted to see her smile again.

"...Stop it." Damn it, he didn't mean to say that. Did he really just tell a crying person to 'stop'? God, he was worse than he thought.

"Sorry..."

"No, I mean..." He racked his mind for things he could do. She'd helped him in so many ways before, why couldn't he figure out a single thing he could do for her? "I..."

Her head remained fixed downwards. More tears were visible now.

...Even if he couldn't do anything worthy of her, he wanted to do something soon. He started to feel himself getting desperate - he wanted her to be happy and he wanted it now.

To hell with it. He leaned inward, resting his head on her shoulder, and wrapped his arms around her, doing his best to give her the biggest comforting hug he could manage. It wasn't extravagent, it wasn't even creative, but it had worked on him before.

"H-huh...?" She looked up, the boy's hair brushing against her cheek. She certainly never would have expected that from him.

He hugged her a little tighter; fighting the urge to pull away from her just to seem like he didn't care. For as much as he wanted to...right now, he couldn't even lie to himself. He did care. A great deal. He just hated showing it...but now wasn't the time for that. In fact...

Maintaing his embrace, he shifted his head and planted one slightly awkward but firm kiss on her cheek. Ignoring his own blush, as well as the heat now radiating from her's, he went right back to resting his head on her shoulder.

"Ah..." He was actually trying to comfort her, wasn't he? He...didn't want her to be sad. It wasn't overly hard for her to believe, but it just seemed uncharacteristic. She always knew he cared for her to some extent, but for him to actually show it? And with a kiss, too...well...she didn't mind. In fact, it was really nice. Her face slowly took the form of a smile as she returned the boy's hug, pulling him closer and letting both of them bask in the warmth of the other. "Hibiya...?"

"Don't mention it." He heard her spirits lift a little in her voice, and suddenly, he'd felt happier than he had in weeks. Still, he really, _really_ hoped she actually wouldn't mention it.

Again, she gave him a light squeeze. "Thank you~"

Now she seemed almost back to her normal self, and he couldn't help but smile with her, even if he really didn't want to. "...Eh...you've helped me a lot, so..."

She moved her hand upwards and ruffled his hair a bit, before pulling away and giving him a genuine smile. He returned it.

"Ah...lets get back now, shall we?" She spoke up, her voice upbeat once more.

"Hm...yeah...lets go."

The two walked out of the area together, off to go find the rest of the Dan so they could all get back to the base and another summer day could end.


End file.
